*Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton: A New Yorker, a married woman and mother.  Originally an Anglican, she became a Roman Catholic after she was widowed.  She founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809.  She helped to develop the Catholic school system in the United States and is the first American-born person to be canonized.

*John Henry Newman:  Cardinal Newman was an Anglican priest who became a Roman Catholic in 1845.  His writings have done much to give people a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith.

*Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini:  Born in Italy in 1850, Frances Cabrini founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious community of women who work in schools and hospitals.  Mother Cabrini was the first naturalized American citizen to be declared a saint.

*Saint Charles Lwanga:  Charles Lwanga was a young Christian page in the service of a pagan emperor.  He protected the other pages from the emperor, who demanded that they participate in homosexual activity.  Charles was martyred with 21 other Ugandans during the persecution of 1886.

*Pope Leo XIII:  A Pope of the late 19th century, Leo XIII is best known for his commitment to the rights of working men and women.  His encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891) is still considered one of the classic statements on the subject of justice and workers.

*Saint Maximilian Kolbe:  Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest who fulfilled the gospel message by laying down his life for another.  During WWII, he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.  He volunteered to die in the place of another prisoner.

*Thomas Merton:  A Trappist monk and gifted writer, Thomas Merton wrote extensively about the spiritual life, monasticism and the need for world peace.  He was also commited to dialogue with Eastern religions on the subject of mysticism.  His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, tells his conversion story.  He died in 1968.

*Dorothy Day:  A convert to Catholicism, Dorothy Day was a lay woman who by her example encouraged many to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.  Founder of the Catholic Worker movement, she labored most of her life in New York City and died there in 1980.

*Archbishop Oscar Romero:  Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 because of his stand on human rights and his work to promote justice and peace in his country, El Salvador.

*Francis Xavier (16th Century): The great courage and zeal that Francis

Xavier brought to his work as a Jesuit missionary came from a life of prayer.

Born in Spain, he preached in India, Malaya, the Moluccas, and was the first

missionary to enter Japan. He died while seeking admittance to China to

spread the gospel there.

*Martin De Porres (17th Century): After a long day of caring for the sick

and poor, Martin spent many hours in meditation. His prayer strengthened

him as he reached out to those in need.

*Therese of Lisieux (19th Century): When she was fifteen, Therese became

a Carmelite nun. Every day the Carmelites spend a long time in

contemplative prayer. Therese loved this time of prayer. Her autobiography,

The Story of a Soul, shows us that she persevered even when prayer was

difficult for her.

*Maria Goretti (20th Century): As a young adolescent, Maria was busy

taking care of her brothers and sisters, because her mother had to work.

Even so, she prayed often and taught her brothers and sisters to pray.